Thursday, May 31, 2018

What’s
for dinner?Just like the old song says
‘things they are A-changin’ Well if your cooking for an at home family meal for
two, three, or four, family members, chances are very good your buying several Ready-2-Eat
or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared meal components according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Regular
readers of this blog know that grocery stores, convenience stores, and
restaurants are all bundling fresh prepared meal components for the home
cook.The home cook is responding buying
individualized components making meal assembly of fresh prepared meal
components the replacement for cooking from scratch.

Restaurants,
Service Deli, and C-store foodservice aided with branded and private label food
manufactures products are all vying for your dinner table. Ready-2-eat and
heat-N-eat foods from Swiss steak, Meatloaf, Baked Salmon, Rotisserie Chicken,
Pizza and Lasagna fresh prepared, portioned and portable in portions for 1,2,
or 5 are all available at most foodservice retail location.

Most
exciting is the opportunity for new start-up’s and regional manufactures to
produce sustainable business built on local, fresh and unique flavor
profiles.Legacy national brand
manufactures are experiencing an increase in repositioning, consolidation and
acquisition activities.Regional
start-ups are thriving supplying local restaurants, C-stores and grocery store
delis.

Consumer
are responding buying meal components in new food channels, experiencing new
flavor profiles all the while individualizing the family meal.The foodservice industry is evolving with the
consumer.Those companies looking for
opportunity for growth times have never been better. The consumer is dynamic
not static are you keeping pace?

Foodservice
Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you
identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or
a brand leveraging integration strategy. Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche
visit:

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

American consumers are migrating from Eating-In to Eating-Out While
Eating-In according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based
Foodservice Solutions®. The undercurrents of this sea change in consumers path
to purchase was identified, quantified, and qualified by Johnson in Foodservice
Solutions® white paper ‘The 65 Inch HDTV
Syndrome’

Today
86% of consumers are using off-premise services at least monthly that includes:

1.78% obtain fresh
prepared food from a Drive Thru

2.75% obtain fresh
prepared food as Carry-out or Takeout

3.64% obtain fresh
prepared food from Delivery

According
to Melissa Wilson, principal with Technomic “Food delivery, in particular, is
projected to grow in the double digits12% per year over the next five years”, In
fact year over year food delivery sales are up a staggering 28%.

Regular
readers of this blog know that grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants,
and new non-traditional foodservice outlets are all delivering fresh prepared
food. As the lines between food sectors continues to blur so does brand
messaging within takeout, drive-thru, and delivery ordering according to
Johnson.

Generational
shifts are a major contributor to consumers’ growing desire for delivery. By
2026, 80% of millennials will be parents, said Wilson. Combine that, she said,
with nearly half of consumers preferring to eat at home. The result is
incremental sales growth for operators who can provide the optimal food
delivery experience.

One
brand doing a particularly good job is Red Robin going where other dare
not.However Red Robin is finding that
consumers of all ages are now more open to fresh food delivery and
non-traditional branded locations.

Success does
leave clues Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business
development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food
retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu
integration strategy. Foodservice
Solutions®
of Tacoma WA is the global leader in
the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson,
Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or twitter.com/grocerant

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Coffee shops, fast food restaurants, and convenience stores are
all garnering incremental customers, top line sales, and bottom line profits
driven by an increased demand in fresh full flavored coffee according to Steven
Johnson Grocerant Guru® at
Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Today consumers purchase an average of 3.6 beverages per week
from c-stores, restaurants, and new non-traditional foodservice locations.
Simply put ‘On-the-go’ beverage consumption is fueling coffee visits thus
foodservice outlet visits according to Johnson. In fact 64% of
consumers have drank coffee within the past month, either at home or from a
foodservice outlet.

Erica Colgan, Product Manager at Huhtamaki stated
that many of these visits are likely happening on-the-go. “In general, consumer
lifestyles are becoming more mobile”... “Coffee has always been an important
part of the morning routine for many people, but with busier schedules, it’s
often easier to grab a cup to go while on the way to work, school or errands.”

Colgan continued “A great to-go cup starts with proper
insulation. While many busy professionals don’t have the time to linger over a
cup of coffee in the morning, they want it to stay hot on the go. Not only do
quality cups keep beverages at the right temperature for a longer period of
time, but they also make it more comfortable to hold—something that’s important
for customers who stop in before their morning commutes. “With proper
insulation, drinks will stay hot and the cup stays comfortable to the touch,
making it easier to hold during commutes and while on-the-go,”

Fresh fast full flavored coffee service in the morning has
incremental brand-building power for foodservice outlets. Retail foodservice
outlets can print logos and other branding on the outside of cups, which
increases brand recall for consumers. With branded cups, an operator can gain
additional exposure. Colgan says “allows operators to showcase their brand in a
high-quality way. And now, the extended sleeve provides even more room for
branding.”

More and more municipalities are banning legacy plastic and
Styrofoam cups.Are you prepared with
the proper cups for takeout?Do your
brand cups look more like yesterday than tomorrow? The best-designed to-go cups
will take into consideration consumer needs and preferences, and adapt to those
needs.

Success
does leave clues and being prepared with branded cups of fresh brewed coffee
that is full flavored is a clue not operator should over look.Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a
Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning
or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.usof Tacoma, WA has been the
global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Monday, May 28, 2018

Was May the
month you were going to slim down for summer? Well if it was and you were one
of the luck consumers Just Salads may have been where you have been
eating. Just Salad launched an endless salad
bowl promotion in May, joining a number of
other chains that have debuted recent
pay-upfront deals.

The
Just Salad’s $99 Unlimited Salad Bowl, which sold out in about six hours
entitled the purchaser to one salad each of the 31 days in May. That includes
any chef-designed salad or a custom creation with four toppings and one
protein. The deal breaks down to $3.19 per salad if purchased each day. The chain will limit sales to 100
Unlimited Salad Bowls.

Just
Salads received lots of ‘buzz’ around the pay-upfront endless salad bowl promo
according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at
Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.However Johnson wondered aloud during his presentation in Chicago during
the NRA Show if this could become
a new subscription model for many fast casual restaurants?

Just
Salad’s Chief Branding Officer Rosalin Siv “This is the first time we’re doing
it, so we’re testing the waters,” Johnson ask why not evolve this model? A
number of other chains have found success with similar pay-upfront promotions,
most notably Olive
Garden’s Never Ending Pasta
Pass,
which typically sells out in less than one second. That’s just a flash in the
pan but how could you move this business model forward?

The
Unlimited Salad Bowl promotion meshes with Just Salad’s sustainable,
earth-friendly mission. The fast-casual chain already sells a $1 reusable bowl,
with which customers can get free toppings during each visit. Some 785,000
consumers have used the reusable bowls in the last year, the brand says.

Amazon has
it subscription service Amazon Prime which over 100 million customer pay for. Gym
membership are growing in popularity among all ages so Johnson asks could a
subscription base drive your restaurants top line sales and bottom line
profits?

Restaurant punch cards were big back in the day but could a
subscription service become the base of a loyalty program; could it become you new electricity? In the minds-eye of Johnson,
there is one dominate element that will power success within retail foodservice
over the coming years.Johnson calls it the new
electricity that is partnerships specifically strategic
partnerships.

Retailers
the ilk of Supermarkets, Restaurants, Conveniences
Stores, Dollar Stores, and Department Stores that selling food and want to survive the next
generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing portable prepared fresh
food. That will require brands to embrace new fresh food partnerships
more now than ever before according to Johnson.

Are you
trapped doing what you have always done and doing it the same way? Where is your new electricity coming from? Interested in learning how www.FoodserviceSolutions.us can edify your retail food brand while
creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation
and individualization? Email us
at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit:www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Success
does leave clues and Rutter’s
understands innovation does not mean something completely new or different it
means something familiar something local something liked by current customers
according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Rutter's has
include two local favorites to its menu: Pork Belly and Pepperoni
"Roni" Rolls. Pork Belly rolled out across the York-based
convenience store retailer's menu on Wednesday and is available as an
additional topping for items including burgers, sandwiches, and mac &
cheese, in addition to a standalone sandwich, sub or wrap. It will be featured
on Rutter's menu exclusively for two months.

Keeping
the flavor profile local Rutter’s Pork Belly is supplied from local vendor
Garrett Valley in Swedesboro, N.J. According to Rutter's, it is the only
c-store chain in the country to initially have this item.

Rutter's partnered
with another local vendor, Mom's Wholesale Foods in New Castle, Pa., to
introduce Roni Rolls. The menu addition is soft, Italian dough stuffed with
pepperoni and mozzarella cheese, and topped with cheese.

Rutter's
focuses on local manufacturers and suppliers to help it bring high-quality
ingredients to customers. The c-store retailer describes local food items as
products that come from producers/manufacturers within a 100-mile radius from
its corporate office, or in the state of Pennsylvania, Rutter's Director of
Foodservice Ryan Krebs noted.

Success does
leave clues Foodservice Solutions® specializes in
outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify
additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and
brand and menu integration strategy. Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit
Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or twitter.com/grocerant

Saturday, May 26, 2018

Success does leave clues and at the beginning of this year Steven Johnson
Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® called 2018 the year of partnerships. Chain restaurants the ilk of Dunkin’ Donuts continue to prove Johnson
to be spot on as Dunkin’ expands product innovation within its relationship
with Coca-Cola.

What is
the key driver for foodservice moving forward? In the minds-eye of Johnson,
there is one dominate element that will power success within retail foodservice
over the coming years.Johnson calls it the new
electricity that is partnerships specifically strategic
partnerships.

Retailers
the ilk of Supermarkets, Restaurants, Conveniences
Stores, Dollar Stores, and Department Stores that selling food and want to survive the next
generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing portable prepared fresh
food. That will require brands to embrace new fresh food partnerships
more now than ever before according to Johnson.

Dunkin’
Donuts addition of Cookies & Cream to its popular and fast-growing line of
bottled, ready-to-drink iced coffee beverages produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola
Company is another example of how to expand your brands reach.

Are you
trapped doing what you have always done and doing it the same way? Where is your new electricity coming from? Interested in learning how www.FoodserviceSolutions.us can edify your
retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient
meal participation, differentiation and individualization? Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit:www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more
information.

Friday, May 25, 2018

The retail food shopping
experience is evolving faster than many legacy CPG manufactures; grocery
retailers can even begin to image according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru®
at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice
Solutions®. Once top of mind for
consumers were brands the ilk Hunts, Kraft Heinz , and Campbell’s Soup today
consumers want fresh meal components and are migrating to retailers with fresh
food they can buy fast.

In
search to speed up the grocery shopping experience consumers have come to rely
on digital channels and now expect online access in their path to purchase, a
study by consumer target marketing firm SKUlocal
found.

Forty-three
percent of shoppers have subscribed to receive home delivery of grocery
products, and 47% have done so for beauty and personal care products, according
to SKUlocal’s report “The Convenience Dynamic: How Digital Shopping Is Shifting
the Grocery Ecosystem.”

“Brands
and grocery retailers can no longer afford to ignore e-commerce. While some
adoption rates remain low and not all categories have shifted fully online,
e-commerce now represents the opportunity for significant market share which
must be considered in the strategic planning process,” St. Petersburg,
Fla.-based SKUlocal said in the report. “While accommodating the shift may be a
challenge, it also presents a host of opportunities.”

Price
plays a key role in swaying consumers to buy online rather than in-store. Of
digital grocery shoppers, 52% think they find better prices online for
groceries, health and beauty aids, over-the-counter health products and pet
supplies, SKUlocal said. Just 28% believe they’ll get better prices by going to
the store.

“It’s
imperative that brands and retailers alike become very strategic on which
product categories to feature and push online, and analyze which products drive
more in-store sales conversions,” SKUlocal noted in the report.

For
example, although Millennial shoppers are digitally native and have embraced
online grocery delivery faster than other consumers, they’re also the most
likely to switch channels to get what they want. SKUlocal’s research found that
56% of Millennials tend to buy natural and organic foods in-store. What’s more,
only 16% have used digital channels to purchase healthier foods.

Purchases
of center store and general merchandise have moved online the fastest, while
HBA, OTC, and fresh and frozen foods are migrating more slowly, SKUlocal
reported. Yet private label presents a sizable opportunity for brands and
retailers in the digital realm. The study found that 77% of consumers have
considered buying private label products online when shopping for grocery, HBA,
pet care and OTC items.

“Shoppers
revealed that low brand affinity is one of the main influences to consider
private-label brands when shopping for high-margin grocery categories,”
SKUlocal’s report said in explaining how private label is capturing strong
e-commerce share.

Over
the next 10 years, online grocery shopping stands to reach market saturation,
accounting for over a fifth of grocery spend. That means marketers must get a
better handle on where targeted shoppers are buying various product categories
and why they’re using those channels, according to SKUlocal.

“Shoppers
aren’t just omnichannel in terms of how they’re exposed to marketing; they’re
omnishoppers that fluidly move between each channel to make the purchases that
meet their needs,”. “Marketers must approach them holistically if they want to
capture the right touchpoints and influence them to become repeat shoppers or
loyal customers.” Is your retail experience fast enough? Are you selling fresh
meal components?

Invite Foodservice
Solutions® to complete a Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or
for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant
Guru®. Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us of
Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Dash
In a new concept store by the Willis
Group created a platform where time stared consumers can get a fresh meal
and or meal components or eat a fresh prepared meal according to Johnson. Dash
In has 5,600 sq. ft. and blurs the lines between restaurant and C-store by
combining a neighborhood bar and grill format with the self-service gas station
and car wash layout that is familiar to consumers.

To
appeal to consumers’ on-the-go lifestyles, the store stocks fresh,
made-in-house grab and go menu items such as artisan sandwiches and salads, in
addition to locally sourced snacks such as Good Earth Peanuts, grown in
Skippers, Virginia, about one hour south of Richmond.

The
bar and grill features of the Dash In store include indoor bar and communal
seating, and outdoor seating. An open kitchen will prepare items from the
store’s “Craveable” menu which includes Memphis pulled-pork sandwich made with
slow-cooked pork in a maple brown sugar barbecue sauce and topped with
caramelized onions, as well as a cranberry chicken croissant that Willis Group
noted is a customer favorite. The sandwich is made with chicken breast, dried
cranberries, red onion, and a hint of lime.

Julian
B. Wills, president of Dash In stated “Our
newest Dash In is a demonstration of our commitment to creating a store design
that offers an elevated brand experience for our customers,” Dash In capitalizes on several strategies food industry research
company Nielsen identified as necessary to
remain competitive in a saturated food retail market most of which mirrors
Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant ScoreCard data.

In an Insight report from 2017 Nielsen noted that convenience
stores have many sources for inspiration. “In the QSR realm, speed has become
an essential service element,” Nielsen reported. “Convenience stores need to
follow suit, ensuring that customers looking for a quick meal can get in and
out swiftly.”

The
Dash In concept store offers all-day breakfast, as a nod to the quick-service
restaurant (QSR) channel and a direct invitation to customers. Nielsen also
recommended restaurant-style seating, broad menus for in-store service and
premium product offerings as strategies for elevating the customer experience.

Here
is what was different “Digging deeper, Nielsen data shows that subcategories
like enhanced water, import, super premium and craft beer, ready-to-eat (RTE)
meals, e-cigarettes, tools and housewares and sparkling wine all delivered
mid-to-high double-digit sales growth for convenience stores last year,”
Nielsen said in its Insight report.

Darleen
Nascimento, director of brand marketing for Dash In “We are delighted to support the craftsmanship
of local purveyors and breweries throughout the region within this new Dash In
experience,” “Dash In’s commitment is to
make life more rewarding for time-stretched people — we look forward to
transforming necessary errands into engaging experiences.”

Invite Foodservice
Solutions® to complete a Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or
for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant
Guru®.Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.usof
Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Legacy grocery
stores have long been known by consumers as a place that it takes too long to
shop at and even longer to wait in line to pay only to coaxed while in line for
that last minute impulse buy the consumer really did not want according to
Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice
Solutions®.

In a new
study by Adyen found “Over the last 12 months,
86 percent of U.S. consumers say they have left a store due to long lines,
resulting in purchases at a different retailer or no purchase at all. This
resulted in approximately $37.7 billion lost in potential sales. In
addition, $1.1 billion in potential sales have been lost when
retailers don't support their customers' preferred payment methods, the survey
found.

A key
segment emerged in the study, coined "Spendsetters." This group
loves to use technology, tends to be early adopters and represents one-third of
all consumers and 52 percent of millennials.

According
to Adyen, spendsetters will drive the future of retail as the key segment of
shoppers who set the trends for how people want to spend and shop. The group is
also the leading indicator of broader customer demands in retail experience and
where the industry is headed.

Roelant
Prins, chief commercial officer at Adyen stated "Retailers need to cater
to shoppers by offering fast, easy and frictionless ways to pay so there are
minimal lines and offer personalized recommendations and in-store deals. In
other words, experience is key." Additional findings on Spendsetters from
the survey include:

·45
percent believe brand is important and are willing to pay a premium for the
experience

·49
percent love to shop

·42
percent prefer to shop online

·80
percent are comfortable using digital wallets

·86
percent have left a store due to long lines

Spendsetters
also have three overarching shopping demands:

Convenience

·75
percent would shop more in-store with a "just walk out" payment
experience

·69
percent would shop more in-store with shorter lines and direct shipping of
out-of-stock products

Context
(personalized)

·57
percent say the ability to check if an item is available online before going
in-store would increase their loyalty to a retailer

·53
percent prefer a store with a mobile loyalty program

·72
percent would shop more with personalized product recommendations and coupons,
based on location

·67
percent see an increase in customers using their mobile phones in-store for
coupons, payments and product info

·64
percent see a need for associates to use mobile devices to better assist
customers

Additionally,
when it comes to luxury retailers, 85 percent see an increase in customers using
their mobile phone for shopping in stores in regards to coupons, payments and
product information, and 74 percent are considering cashless stores that only
accept cards and digital payment.

So just what
is your New
Electricity?
Success does leave clues www.FoodserviceSolutions.usis the global leader in grocerant niche business development.We can help you identify, quantify and
qualify additional food retail segment opportunities.Has your company had a Grocerant ScoreCard
completed a Grocerant Program Assessment, or new Grocerant niche product
Ideation?Want one?Call 253-759-7869 Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us